Rest in peace - or not
by ytteb
Summary: Another tag to Requiem ... how things could have gone slightly differently, not a death fic but probably not one for Gibbs fans.


_Warning - angst ahead!_

Tony DiNozzo sagged in relief as he saw Gibbs and Maddie begin to breathe on their own but his own breathing was becoming more and more laboured as his lungs protested at what he had demanded of them. He heard the sound of sirens drawing near and knew that their solitude would soon be over. It was odd, he mused afterwards, that it was as he finally began to relax, with danger over, that his body betrayed him and he toppled unconscious to the ground.

NCISNCIS

"Look, he's waking up," said Abby from Tony's bedside.

"Press the bell, Abigail," said Ducky, "the medical staff will want to know that our patient is awake. No, no, my boy," he said, "leave that mask on. It is helping your breathing," and he pulled Tony's hands away from where he was trying to remove the facemask. Ducky leaned forward and peered at Tony's face, "What's that? Yes, Gibbs is fine. And Maddie too."

Tony seemed to relax a little at hearing this. He had woken up from a nightmare where he hadn't been able to pull Gibbs out of the car.

"We were so worried," said Abby, taking hold of Tony's hand, "you've been out for hours."

Tony basked in the warm feeling of Abby's good will washing over him.

"Indeed," said Ducky, "we were concerned that the immersion might have some long term effect but it appears that the respiratory treatment initiated by the doctors has had the desired effect. Your breathing is much better now and I suspect that your body was simply exhausted which is the reason you were unconscious for so long. I remember a case …"

"But, Tony," said Abby sadly, "what on earth were you doing?"

Tony looked at Abby in surprise. He was still groggy and a bit disorientated but Abby's reproachful tone was unexpected.

"Perhaps he doesn't remember, Abigail," suggested Ducky, "it was a traumatic experience, after all."

"And I for one," came Ziva's voice, "would not want to remember reversing my car off a pier into the water."

"Another car written off," said McGee, "I'm surprised he can get car insurance at all!"

"Guys," said Abby, "let's just be glad that everything is all right and nobody is hurt," and she patted Tony's hand kindly.

"Thanks to Gibbs," said McGee.

Tony shook his head in bewilderment as he tried to follow the conversation.

"You don't remember?" asked Ziva.

"Abby worked it out," said Tim, "Gibbs didn't say much."

"And discharged himself against medical advice. And _my_ advice," said Ducky disapprovingly, "but I let him know that I thought you would soon be returning to the land of the living. He is on his way here."

Abby took pity on Tony's obvious puzzlement.

"The nearest we can figure it," she said, "you arrived at the pier just as Gibbs was meeting with the bad guys. He made you get in the car and drive off with Maddie."

"But you decided to drive off into the water," chipped in Ziva.

"Gibbs shot the kidnappers and then dived in to rescue you and Maddie," continued McGee.

"I don't know how he did it," breathed Abby, "rescuing _two_ people on his own. Well, it's amazing."

"Like something out of one of your movies," said Ziva.

"And it wasn't even his gun," said McGee, "he took yours. And you know he doesn't like your gun. Remember the other day at the range, he picked it up and said the sight was off."

"It is a sign of a _true_ marksman to be able to shoot so accurately with an unfamiliar weapon," said Ziva admiringly.

"Well," said Abby, "it is _Gibbs_ we're talking about here."

Tony closed his eyes, wondering if he was still dreaming and wondering what was real and what was not. He reached up for the facemask again but Ducky batted his hand away again,

"No, Anthony, you need to leave it on for a few more hours yet," he said kindly.

"And don't worry, Tony," said Abby earnestly, "I'm sure Gibbs will forgive you for messing … I mean, for driving … I mean, for ending up in the water."

"With Kelly's best friend," added Ziva, "no, I am sure he will not mind in the least," she chuckled.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" squealed Abby excitedly as she saw Gibbs appearing in the doorway, "Look, Tony's awake. We've been telling him what you did. How you rescued him and Maddie! Don't be mad with him. I mean, I know he shouldn't have driven the car off the pier, but people were shooting at him. It could have happened to anyone!"

"Not to Gibbs, Abby," said Ziva softly.

"Well, obviously not to Gibbs," agreed Abby, "but it could have happened to most people."

"I'm not mad, Abby," said Gibbs.

"See, Tony," said Abby happily, "Gibbs isn't cross with you. See, it shows how much he cares about you."

Tony wondered what to do. How could he tell Abby that she had got it completely wrong, that Gibbs was not the hero of this scene? He looked at Gibbs and tried to work out what he was thinking. He wondered if he could prove what had really happened and then realised that, if Gibbs didn't remember, Tony couldn't, and wouldn't, insist on his version of events. Tony sank back on his pillows and huffed a laugh as he recognised that his hero status was on hold – again. He guessed he could live with that, he was used to being the bridesmaid rather than the bride. And then he looked at Gibbs and saw the sudden doubt in the boss's eyes and a shiver swept through Tony's body which had nothing to do with the temperature in the room.

NCISNCIS

"Gibbs," said Tony, "welcome to Magnum Country, or, as the Director calls it, NCIS Hawaii."

"Tony," said Gibbs, "you're looking well. Hawaii seems to suit you."

"Coffee?" asked Tony, "we'll take it outside. You look as if you could use some rays."

Gibbs and Tony sat facing the sea and watched the waves for a while. Tony finished his drink and stood up to go,

"Good to catch up," he said evenly, "but I've got work to do."

"Jenny says you're doing a good job here," said Gibbs.

"I know," said Tony, still standing, "although I guess some people are surprised. People in DC who think I'm an incompetent fool."

"Tony," said Gibbs, but Tony continued,

"They're probably surprised I haven't totalled a car recently. They probably think it was a mistake me coming to work on an island. After all, surrounded by water, it's only a matter of time before I end up driving into the sea. And I won't have a superman to come rescue me."

"So you remember," said Gibbs.

Tony sat down again. "I never forgot," he said simply.

"You never said anything," said Gibbs.

"What was there to say?" asked Tony bitterly.

"That you shot the kidnappers. That you dived down to save Maddie and me. That you did something amazing," said Gibbs softly.

"Why didn't _you_ say anything?" asked Tony.

"I don't know," said Gibbs, "I was in a dream at the hospital, trying to make sense of things. It was all a blur. Then Abby started working it all out. Me grabbing your gun, shoving you into the car, you driving off into the water, me rescuing you. It all made sense."

"More sense than me doing all those 'amazing' things? Oh, apart from driving off the edge of the pier?" Gibbs was silent, and Tony continued, "And there's the rub isn't it? Doing something stupid didn't fit in with your picture of you as the all-conquering hero but it sure fit with your picture of me?"

"It wasn't like that, Tony," protested Gibbs.

"Then tell me what it was like," said Tony, "go on, explain."

"I didn't know how to tell Abby that she'd got it wrong," said Gibbs.

"You were worried about hurting her feelings?" said Tony incredulously.

"No, that wasn't it," said Gibbs, "it was just that … they had it all worked out. And you didn't say anything …"

"So this is my fault?"

"No," said Gibbs, "but why didn't you say anything?"

"Wasn't sure you'd back me up, Gibbs. Imagine how that would have looked, me trying to claim I'd done it all? Nobody would have believed it. Tony DiNozzo, the class clown, doing good? Not likely. Driving his car off the pier, oh yes. Anything else? No way. I was screwed, Gibbs."

"You could have talked to me," said Gibbs.

"What for? So we could come up with a story to satisfy everyone? No thank you."

"I could have thanked you," said Gibbs.

"There wasn't anything stopping you, Gibbs," said Tony, "you could have done something. I was just taking one for the team. Letting them keep their picture of the almighty Gibbs."

"But you left," pointed out Gibbs, "you left the team."

Tony stared at Gibbs, "yeah, turns out there's a limit to how much I'm willing to put up with. All those suggestions about me 'going back to drivers' school'. All that sniping for 'not standing up in front of everyone and thanking you for saving my worthless butt'. You know, for some reason, that got to me a bit. Unreasonable, I know, but that's mere human beings for you, we get sensitive sometimes."

"I …", began Gibbs.

"Save it, Gibbs," said Tony, "I let you off the hook. We were in a difficult situation. And, anyway, it meant I left DC, this is a good place. Like you said, I'm doing well. Making friends, co-workers I can rely on. A supervisor who has my back. It's nice."

"Tony …"

"And you know, Gibbs," said Tony, looking hard at Gibbs, "seeing you today has helped."

"How?" asked Gibbs.

"Seeing how miserable you look," said Tony, "that's helped a lot. Really helped. Have a good trip back to DC. Don't bother keeping in touch," and with that he stood up once more and walked away. He reached the door and turned back,

"I'd say, 'you're welcome' but that would imply you'd said thank you. And you still haven't, have you? Must be a Gibbs rule. I'm glad I don't have to live with them anymore. I guess I should say 'Semper Fi' but I don't really think 'Always faithful applies to you."

He shut the door behind him leaving Gibbs alone, gazing out to sea.


End file.
